Archives for December 2012

A Look Back at 2012 in Blog Posts

December 31, 2012 By

January

I started out the new year with a goal to learn how to make a variety of dairy products. I made almost everything on my list (except mozzarella and butter, which I determined was kind of pointless for me, since I could get it cheaper from a local farm than I could make it), and I blogged about some of it: Super Simple Yogurt, Sour Cream/Creme Fraiche, and How to Make Ghee. Mission accomplished! (Except the mozzarella. I might never get to that one.)

chicken dumplings

February

My bloggy friends and I did a series in February called “Sizzlin’ Soups“ (We even made a free eBook - anybody want a copy? I’ll be offering it to subscribers pretty soon here!). My contribution was a delicious healthified version of chicken and dumplings. My mouth is watering even now as I think about it (and the eBook contains a gluten-free dairy-free version as well!).

March

In celebration of International Woman’s Day, March was all about Women’s Wellness. We talked about everything from easing PMS symptoms to the sun and Vitamin D to emotional and spiritual health. Plus, there were a few recipes (of course!): Choco-Cado Smoothie (a favorite around here), Savory Oven Pancake (another favorite), and the Healthified Shamrock Shake (yet another favorite - it was a yummy month!).

April

April was a slower month for me blog-wise, but it did bring another standby recipe that I L-O-V-E: Vegan Oat Muffins. This is one of those recipes I love that always turns out no matter what I do to it. Plus it’s wheat-free, dairy-free, and egg-free, which are kind of important around here.

May

Some friends and I participated ina one-day blog series about The Real Truth About Real Food. My post for the series was all about how I’ve come to learn that relationships with people supercede my relationship with food every time. There’s a great freedom and balance that comes when you learn that important lesson. And your friends (and husbands) are a lot happier, too.

Your Grocery Budget Toolbox

June

In June, I launched my first ever eBook, Your Grocery Budget Toolbox! To celebrate, I focused on grocery budgets for 7 days, with posts like A Budget for Every Personality, Menu Planning, and How to Become a Gardener. It was an exciting week for me, and I’ve been thrilled with the positive response to my eBook. Self-publishing is a highly fulfilling experience; I recommend it!

July

I had the privilege of experimenting with a WonderMill grain mill starting in July, and posted about the experience on the Grain Mill Wagon. Some of the recipes inspired by the mill: The Best Pancakes Ever, Grandma’s Biscuits - with Spelt, and Spelt Pizza Crust,.

August

August brought big changes - this blog went from Quick and Easy Cheap and Healthy (mainly focused on food) to Authentic Simplicity (broadening that QECH focus to include life in general). I didn’t waste any time, either - I participated in a week-long series where I featured all the different ways I save money on organizing products: at yard sales, with empty jars, at dollar stores, and with shipping boxes.

September

I kicked off the school year with a series of posts detailing my simple approach to preschool at home. It was very well received, particularly the posts about phonics and reading. Which is awesome because that happens to be one of my passions in life.

October

In October I was privileged to attend the Allume Conference, which prompted two posts: one a recap of the event, the other a post written by my DH! I have to say, he did a fantastic job. The man has skills!

November

In November, I launched another facet of my online business: I became a distributor of Young Living Essential Oils (note that the giveaway mentioned in the post is no longer open). You can read the whole story by clicking on that link, but to sum up: I’ve decided to focus on essential oils as a natural method of helping the body to heal, and I learned that becoming a distributor was the best way to make high quality oils affordable. I’ve been very happy with my decision, and am, in fact, about to go apply some oils to my coughing little Tiger Cub. I know they will help immensely, and I’m thrilled that I have access to them.

December

December was all about keeping it simple: A Simple Christmas was the theme. I’m going to tell you a little secret: I wrote all the posts and scheduled all the social media updates prior to December, and I took the whole month off of blogging. Oh, I still did some work here and there, but by and large, I had myself a nice, month-long vacation. And a lovely, simple Christmas. Ahhhhh!

Now it’s back to the grind for me! But thankfully, I happen to love my chosen grind. Here’s to a wonderful New Year here at Authentic Simplicity!

 

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The Top 12 Posts of 2012

December 28, 2012 By

It’s been a big year on the blog: a name change, domain change, design change, and the whole nine yards! I can barely even remember the old Quick and Easy Cheap and Healthy! But the spirit remains: the focus on all things simple but real, and, of course, cheap frugal.

So many new friends have joined us along the journey, and I am so delighted to have each and every one of you here to help me figure out this delicate balance between authentic and simple. So for new friends and old, here’s a quick backward glance over this past year as we head into the promise of the new.

The posts listed below are the most popular ones this year based on my traffic statistics. In other words, readers visited these posts more than any others on the blog. So that means they must be good, right?

The Top 12 Posts of 2012 on Authentic Simplicity

pumpkin soup 12. Pumpkin Soup

This kind of tickles my funny bone, because I made this pumpkin soup exactly once. I liked it and everything, but I haven’t had the desire to make it since. The honest truth is that I really like my soup to have stuff floating in it - you know, like meat, and noodles, and vegetables, and all that yummy stuff. When I eat a bowl of straight pureed soup, I sort of feel like I haven’t actually eaten anything. I keep thinking I’d like to make this soup as an accompaniment to a meal (like maybe with sandwiches) but I haven’t done that yet. Maybe one day!

11. Don’t Throw Away Those Sweet Potato Peels

It’s kind of my mantra: wait, don’t throw that away! You can still use it! Even for the homely old sweet potato peel. These make a yummy snack, let me tell you. And this I have made more than once.

10. Easy Protein-Rich Snacks

Upon embarking on my low-carb diet, I found it tricky to have high-protein snacks available in between meals, so I made this post so I would have a quick reference whenever the munchies hit. It’s come in handy more than once!

9. Gluten-Free Vegan Samosas

This is another one-hit wonder. I made these gluten-free vegan samosas for the Secret Recipe Club, and *I* enjoyed them thoroughly, but they weren’t such a big hit for My Certain Little Someone. Since I have no need to eat gluten-free vegan anything, there’s no way I’m going to go through the effort of making these purely for my own enjoyment. Maybe when he’s older, we’ll give it another go. Actually, maybe not, since he is no longer wheat-free. Well, anyway, you can enjoy these, because although they require quite a bit of effort, they are quite yummy.

8. Clean Your Oven Safely and Naturally

In the interest of full disclosure, that is not my oven in the picture. I wish! My oven is clean, but it ain’t that clean. I’m glad this post made it to my top ten, because I want everybody to know that cleaning your oven without exposing yourself to dangerous chemicals is totally do-able, and frankly, easier than the chemical-laden alternatives.

7. A Little More Mexican: Pork Carnitas

Whenever I buy a pork roast, I always think of this pork carnitas recipe first, and nine times out of ten, this is what I do with said pork roast. I can’t help it; it’s just so yummy!

6. Frosting Without Powdered Sugar: Fluffy Coffee Frosting

This one is an oldie but goodie: I originally posted it back when I was on Blogger! Seems like forever ago, but really was only a couple years. Anyway, this twist on the old-fashioned 7-minute frosting is delicious and much more nutritious than other powdered-sugar-full frostings.

5. Pickles 3 Ways: Fresh-Packed Pickles

I referred to these instructions earlier this summer when once again embarking on my pickle-making adventures. Turned out just as well the second time! The easiest ever way to make canned pickles.

4. Decadent (and not so decadent) Indulgences: Cream-Cheese Frosting

Yet another oldie, and yet another non-powdered-sugar frosting. This cream cheese frosting boasts honey and a small bit of sugar as the only sweetener. And it’s delicious!

3. How to Get Canning Supplies for Cheap or Even Free

Canning doesn’t have to be expensive, as I explain in this post. I share my favorite strategies for purchasing all the needed canning equipment on the cheap!

2. How to Make the Most of Your Grocery Budget Dollars

Once-a-Month-Shopping (grocery shopping, that is) is something I am quite passionate about, mostly because it is the number one tool in my grocery budget toolbox and saves me LOTS of money on food every month. This post explains the nuts-and-bolts of the process, but I highly recommend (naturally!) getting my eBook for even more info and other money-saving tips.

And…. drumroll please….

The number one visited post this year was:

1. No Butter? No Eggs? You Can Still Make Cookies!

When I originally wrote this post, I had no idea that it would become BY FAR the most visited post on this entire blog. It gets almost twice as much traffic as the runner-up, and for good reason. This recipe is reliable, flexible, easy… and delicious! These cookies always turn out no matter what I do to them, and we eat the entire batch in a day or two. Every single time. And yes, this is one I make a lot. I won’t tell you how often because you really don’t need to know how often I eat cookies. But this one’s a keeper.

Come back on Monday to see my own favorite posts from this past year!

 

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A Simple Christmas Tip #25 - Happy Birthday to Jesus!

December 25, 2012 By


If you want more information, click here or on the graphic itself to take you to a full-length post on the topic. Click here to see all the posts in this series.

Come back tomorrow for another quick tip to help you simplify your Christmas by focusing less on spending and more on celebrating.

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A Simple Christmas Tip #24 - Read a Christmas Book

December 24, 2012 By


If you want more information, click here or on the graphic itself to take you to a full-length post on the topic. Click here to see all the posts in this series.

Come back tomorrow for another quick tip to help you simplify your Christmas by focusing less on spending and more on celebrating.

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A Simple Christmas Tip #23 - Make No-Bake Cookies

December 23, 2012 By

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Come back tomorrow for another quick tip to help you simplify your Christmas by focusing less on spending and more on celebrating.

Buy Healthy Snacks to Go eBook Recipes Online

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Have Christmas Gifts Paid For Before December

December 22, 2012 By

Tough decisions
Most of us cannot squeeze the expenses of Christmas - gifts, food, outings, etc. - into a regular month’s budget, which is why the typical family ends up putting hundreds (or thousands) of dollars on credit cards at the end of year and crossing their fingers that they can pay for it before the process starts again the next December.

We are committed to NOT getting in debt for Christmas, so we’ve learned some ways to make it work:

Buy Gift Cards Throughout the Year

There is another great idea I read in a magazine several years ago that we have implemented a few times with some success. The idea is to set aside money every month (or every paycheck, whichever is more convenient) throughout the year to spend at Christmas, but instead of setting up a separate savings account (which is, of course, an excellent option), use that money to buy gift cards at stores you know you will shop during the Christmas season. You can even purchase gift cards to grocery stores and restaurants for the extra food you will buy and eat out during the busy season.

I personally like to buy gift cards to Target, Kohls, Bath & Body Works, and Amazon.com gift cards (from Swagbucks) to use throughout the Christmas season as well.

Save Even More Money

I like to purchase the gift cards at a discount through places like Gift Card Rescue, where people trade in their legitimate unused gift cards or store credit cards, which are then offered for sale at a discount. Since most of the gift cards are at least 5%, and often more like 10%, off the value, I think it’s a better deal than opening a savings account that might earn you a percentage or two of interest during the course of the year. Sign up for their newsletter so you can keep on top of the gift card deals.

Another option is to earn gift cards through places like Swagbucks and My Points. (I just cashed in a $10 gift card to WalMart!)

To make sure I don’t inadvertently use the gift cards, I keep them in a marked envelope stashed somewhere out-of-the-way in my home (this year, that place was my DH’s sock drawer).

If you are diligent about purchasing (or otherwise procuring) these gift cards throughout the year, then come Christmas season, you will be ready to handle whatever expense is thrown your way!

How do you budget for Christmas spending?

This post contains sponsored links.

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A Simple Christmas Tip #22 – Buy Gift Cards Throughout the Year

December 22, 2012 By


If you want more information, click here or on the graphic itself to take you to a full-length post on the topic. Click here to see all the posts in this series.

Come back tomorrow for another quick tip to help you simplify your Christmas by focusing less on spending and more on celebrating.

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Don’t Buy for Everyone - Pick Names at Christmas!

December 21, 2012 By

Christmas presents under the tree
Since there are 11 children in my family, my mom, as I have mentioned before, found lots of ways to simplify our Christmas gift-giving process. Rather than each of us giving all 10 other kids a gift, she had us pick names out of a hat earlier in the Christmas season. That way, each of us was responsible for only one sibling gift, and each of us received a gift. Simple, fair, and square.

Clearly, this suggestion is a wee bit too late for you to implement this year. But since you’re probably going to be seeing - or at least speaking with - your extended family in a few days here, now’s a good time to think about it and perhaps suggest it for next year.

Picking Names for Christmas Gift-Giving

Now that all 11 of us siblings have grown up and gone separate ways all around the country, the name-picking process does get a little complicated. We have learned that we have to think ahead, so whenever the bulk of the family gets together for any reason (this year, it was in September, when my parents descended from their Yooper heights to spend some time with their family in the almost-South), we make it a priority to draw names for that year’s Christmas giving. Sometimes this name-picking process occurs as early as May or June, depending on we all have plans to get together.

The process has also expanded to include in-laws as they are added to the family, although we haven’t yet figured out a good system for the cousins/grandkids. We’ve tossed around the idea of having a separate name-picking process for all the children, but so far haven’t actually done that yet.

And just to make sure that all goes smoothly, it’s my mom’s responsibility to record who has whom so that when if we should happen to forget, we can give her a call and be reminded. Not that any of us ever has to do that. Ahem.

When we were little, we had a price limit of $10, if I remember correctly. As adults, I think technically, the limit is $20, but mostly, we each just spend what we’re comfortable spending (which is typically in the $20-30 range).

Also, as adults, some of us have chosen to give each sibling a small gift, whether or not we picked their name. This is totally voluntary and not at all expected by anyone. For myself, I typically try to find a nice small gift of $5 or less to give to each sibling besides the one whose name I picked, just to show them I love ’em.

This name-picking process is ideal for anyone with a large and/or extended family. It’s also a great idea for cousins and grandkids, especially if the whole family gets together for Christmas.

Make it Fun with Added Elements!

As an extension of this idea, my mom’s family does something very creative for gift-giving at Christmas. Every Christmas, there’s a standing invitation for whoever is available to come and celebrate together at this bed and breakfast. As a group, those who attend pick a letter of the alphabet, and everyone who plans to come the following year must come bearing a gift that begins with that letter. And every Christmas evening, after a very large and satisfying potluck meal, they all have fun taking turns picking gifts from under the tree one at a time. The fun twist is that when wrapping the gift, each person is supposed to write a clue on the tag and whoever opens the gift must guess first what is inside the wrapping. It’s a lot of fun, and a great way for any extended family or group to give gifts without the expense and stress of buying for every single individual.

Go Digital

And, of course, in this digital age, there is a way to make the name-exchange process simpler and more organized. Check out SecretSanta.com, a free online service that helps you exchange names and keep track of them. It even has a way to share wish lists! I’m definitely suggesting we go with this for next year’s Christmas gift exchange!

How do you make extended family gift-giving easy?

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A Simple Christmas Tip #21 – Pick Names

December 21, 2012 By

If you want more information, click here or on the graphic itself to take you to a full-length post on the topic. Click here to see all the posts in this series.

Come back tomorrow for another quick tip to help you simplify your Christmas by focusing less on spending and more on celebrating.

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A Simple Christmas Tip #20 – Send Christmas Cards from Your Computer

December 20, 2012 By

If you want more information, click here or on the graphic itself to take you to a full-length post on the topic. Click here to see all the posts in this series.

Come back tomorrow for another quick tip to help you simplify your Christmas by focusing less on spending and more on celebrating.

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